


Detox

by WritingStag



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Multi, OT4, amberpricefield, pricefield
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-24
Updated: 2017-08-30
Packaged: 2018-12-19 08:29:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11893899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingStag/pseuds/WritingStag
Summary: Commission  for Gridoh on tumblr.Nikola is running, from her past, from her demons and the vices she can't seem to escape. Her girlfriends have her best interest at heart but she can't seem to let them in, even if she wanted to.Amberpricefield ot3 plus Oc  (ot4)





	1. Withdrawal

**Author's Note:**

> This is a commission for my good friend Gridoh on tumblr and A thank you for buying me before the storm! Nikola is their oc and any questions about her should be sent to their tumblr. Comments are always appreciated and well loved (many have been printed and taped to my motivation wall.) Big thank you to life is strange for making me way gayer than humanly possible and big thanks to gridoh for making me push my limits and testing my writing capabilities. Also I have no beta so rip all mistakes are my own.
> 
> Also a big thank you to coffee and coke zero for fucking my sleep schedule so hilariously it'd be funny if it wasn't so sad.
> 
> Enough rambling from me please enjoy and come scream at me here on on tumblr at coffeeskater.

The smoking helped. It didn’t help much but it helped. It was better than lying in bed, twisted up in the sheets and sweating it out. Nikola stared out over the tree tops as the smoke curled out around her, drifting up in the cold air. It was almost like back home the way the snow acted here. It didn’t stay for long, instead mostly raining freezing cold ice rain. Today Nikola was lucky. The sky was clear, offering a gorgeous view of the sky. The stars were different here, different continent meant that the starts were never where she expected them to be.

She released a sigh and pulled the stub of the cigarette from her mouth, dropping it to the roof top and using the heel of her hand to grind the smoulders out. The flicker of pain barely registered. Drawing another cigarette from the Pack Nikola light it and continued to puff away, idly glancing at the palm of her hand. Her hands were covered in elaborate designs. Both hands were tattooed to resembled Hamas eyes, her dominant hand bore the same design her mother had gotten tattooed on her hip, a small way to remember. Her left hand however had been less sentimental, a design close enough to match the other. Yet unlike her pristine right hand, on her left hand the base of that tattoo was almost smudged, marred by scar tissue. Nikola couldn’t remember when she’d developed the habit of putting her cigarettes out with the heel of her hand, only knew that it was an automatic response these days. One that she was starting to consider breaking. Her tattoos were one of the few things she had that she was truly proud of and ruining them with a bad habit wasn’t ideal.

Nikola glanced at the time on her beat up phone. 4:17 am blared back at her. She had class in a little less than three hours. Sleeping now would be pointless. Nikola sighed and took a long drag. She had to be careful otherwise one of her girlfriends was bound to notice she wasn’t sleeping again. With that knowledge a new round of questions would start and Nik truly didn’t want any of them prying into her bad habits. They all had their vices and Nikola knew it.

Chloe was a smoker and a bit of a pot head yet refused to touch a drop of alcohol. Alcohol had been what killed her dad and almost killed her. She wouldn’t go near it, wouldn’t even go near Rachel when she was drunk from time to time. No one blamed her.

Rachel would share a cigarette with Chloe or herself, mostly only for the joy of shotgunning and not much else. She hated the smell and the taste but liked the image of the two of them smoking. She always said it made them look badass (Max would wrinkle her nose and quietly disagree. But wouldn’t say anything) She was a party animal however and could out drink half of Blackwell by herself. There had been many a night where Nikola had to carry her back home, one hand firmly clamped over her mouth so she’d stop singing some horrific top 40’s song while she tried to sneak them back into the dorms without getting caught.

Max was arguably the most destructive of the three (If Nikola was counted she’d win by a wide mile Heroine was killing her faster than she could catch up.) Chloe had been the one to find Max, curled into a small ball and clutching her bleeding wrist, tears streaming down her face. She must have apologized over a thousand times to Chloe while the punk simply went about finding a first aid kit and cleaning up their smallest girlfriend. With Max bandaged up Chloe had texted Rachel and Nikola and dragged Max into bed holding her tight to her chest. Rachel had come in then, closing the door softly behind herself and curling up next to the two of them, pulling Max closer so she was sandwiched between the two. Nikola had never shown up, high as a kite in the woods. She still beat herself up over even now, 4 months later. She’d never told them why she hadn’t come. (Chloe still glared at her when she though Nik wasn’t looking.)

They all had their bad habits yet Nikola’s was the most likely to die from hers and she knew it. Sometimes she wanted to get off the drugs, sometimes she wanted to be better, not just for herself but for the three women she loved. But that was a problem for another time. Tonight she was going to finish her pack of cigarettes then try her best to look less like a corpse so she wouldn’t have to lie again to her girlfriends. Nikola sighed and laid down against the cold black top and let the smoke drift up.

~

Morning came and went and Nikola felt like a zombie the whole time, barely able to keep her eyes open. Chloe was barely present herself and Rachel was too busy worrying about her to notice but Max, always quiet and more observant than anyone gave her credit for noticed. She kept throwing looks at the raven haired girl when she thought she wasn’t looking. It’d have bothered Nikola if she hadn’t know it was coming from a place of love. Even then by third period it was getting on her nerves.

Lunch rolled around and before Nikola could sneak off to the woods behind the dorms to smoke Max had caught her wrist and all but dragged her into the women’s bathroom.  Once inside she shut and locked the door and without a word turned to look at the taller girl. They both knew Nikola wouldn’t speak unless spoken to, but they both knew Max had a well of patience that outmatched the other three combined. They stood there silently staring at each other for  three long minutes before Nikola shrugged and reached into her jacket pocket and pulled her packet of cigarettes out only to have Max snatch them and throw the whole thing in the sink and absolutely drowning them, ruining them completely.

“What is it that you think you are doing!” Nikola demanded, shifting from mildly irritated to furious in a heartbeat.

“Stopping you from killing yourself.” Max replied evenly. “I think we both know it’s not those that are the cause.” She said, tilting her head to indicate the now water logged cigarettes.

“It is not your place.” Nikola replied as evenly as she could.

“It is. That’s part of what being in a relationship is like.” Max countered.

“My business is my own.” Nikola hissed, the anger shimmering just under the surface. Withdrawal was making her more antagonistic and angry than she’d normally be.

“Not when it impacts all of us” Max countered.

“It does not impact you!” Nikola shouted, raising her hand, making Max flinch back and bring her arms up to cover her face. There was a beat of silence, when nothing happened before Max spun and bolted out the door.

It was only after 7th period and after Nikola had skipped 6th to go to the gas station and buy a new pack of cigarettes and smoke half the pack that she realized Max had thought she was going to hit her. The realization hit Nikola straight in the chest like a semi-truck.  Nikola would never hit someone, least of all one of her girlfriends. But Max didn’t know that. How could Max not know that? It made her heart clench and twist in her chest. Another fuck up, another failure.  She had to explain herself, had to make it up to the brunette somehow.

Which would be a task in itself. Chloe was the most protective and if Max had told her of what happened it would be unlikely Nikola would be able to get within five feet of her without the punk pouncing on her. Sometimes Nikola wasn’t sure Chloe loved her at all, maybe she just tolerated her because Rachel and Max wanted her there and Chloe let her stay for fear of upsetting the other two. 

Nikola was too deep in her own head and her own regrets to hear the footsteps behind her and nearly jumped out of her skin when Rachel flopped down and leant up against a tree facing Nikola.

“So, you want to tell me why I practically had to chain Chloe to my bed to make sure she wasn’t the one to find you first?”

Nikola sighed and dropped her head to her chest. There was no defending herself. She knew she had fucked up. Intentional or not she had made Max scared she’d hit her.

“What is it that Maxi has told you?” Nikola asked instead, pulling yet another cigarette from the pack and offering one to Rachel, shrugging when she shook her head and stuck it in her mouth, lighting it.

“Max didn’t have to say a whole lot of anything. She came out of the bathroom looking like a deer in the headlights. Chloe’s used to picking up on what max isn’t saying. Chloe saw how she looked scared she looked and put two and two together when you stormed out a few moments later.

“I did not hit her.” Nikola said bitterly, feeling every bit the monster it seemed like she was being made out to be.

“I didn’t think you did. Your half a foot taller than her, if you had there’d have been a mark.” Nikola deflated, letting go of the tension she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding in her shoulders. Rachel shuffled over and came to sit next to Nikola, taking her hand and rubbing her thumb along the back of her hand. “What’s going on with you?” Rachel asked softly. “You’ve been distant with all of us and you’ve been acting… not like yourself.”

Part of Nikola wanted to tell Rachel, to seek her help. Rachel was a wildfire, beautiful and unstoppable, but new life always sprung up from a fire and Nikola so desperately wanted to be the seed that opened and bloomed into a beautiful new green and thriving plant after Rachel’s scorching influence. But the other part of her, the larger and dominant part that had told her years ago never to rely on anyone, never ask for help, never let yourself show weakness, the solitary self-dependant part of herself was winning. Rachel waited quietly watching as Nikola warred with herself.

“It is nothing to be worry about.” Nikola eventually replied, the weak half of her laying broken in the dirt while self-sufficiency displayed a large and predatory grin, standing over it victorious.

“you’ll excuse me if I don’t believe you.” Rachel replied, taking the cigarette from Nikola’s lips and taking a long drag on it, blowing the smoke up and watching is spiral and twirl  erratically.  “The last person to tell me to not worry in that tone of voice drugged me and almost killed me. I’d probably have died if Chloe and Max hadn’t figured out Jefferson was a fucking psychotic serial rapist.”

Rachel’s words gave Nikola pause. Rachel never spoke of what had happened to her, she didn’t like talking about it. But when she was drunk, or in that in between state people get to when the fall asleep after half a bottle of tequila she would wake covered in a cold sweat and screaming, reaching out for something anything. At first it had been Chloe to comfort her through these episodes, then Max and eventually Nikola. When it happened (as rare as it was thankfully) it was always Nikola Rachel would cry for. She’d sob and shake, clinging desperately to the rough denim of Nikola’s signature jacket and completely lose it. Eventually Nikola got up the courage to ask why it was always her she wanted. Rachel had either been in a good mood or the insecurity was written in big red flashing letters on her forehead because Rachel had taken a deep breath and in a voice so soft it was barely audible had replied ‘Because when I wake up and I see their faces I just remember what happened. I don’t want to remember I just want to forget.’ She cracked a smile, sad and broken. ‘Besides hot stuff, you’re the perfect height and that jacket of yours is practically a sleeping bag.’ And just like that the moment had passed. They’d gone back to pretending the episodes didn’t happen but the next time it (inevitably) happened Nikola had held her the slightest bit tighter, kissed her the slightest bit sweeter and tried a whole lot harder to be the protection Rachel needed from her demons.

Maybe Rachel’s demons would never stop haunting her, clawing their way into her dreams. Perhaps their claws were in too deep. Nikola had a chance to get away from hers. The perfect opportunity was being offered to her, right here right now. It was up to her to take it.

“I would not lie to you Rachel.” Nikola said, keeping her face carefully neutral even as a hot wash of shame slid down her spine, making her whole body too hot and too heavy. Rachel Sat still for a long second, her Hazel eyes boring into Nikola’s blue. Eventually she relaxed and leant back against the tree, taking one more long drag from the cigarette before leaning over and kissing her and replacing the cigarette between the Czech’s lips.

“If you say so.” She said standing and brushing herself off, her tone suggesting she didn’t believe her one bit. “We’re sleeping In Max’s dorm tonight. I’d shower and wear something that doesn’t smell like smoke if you want her to let you in.” she said as she started walking away

“You think she will let me in at all?” Nikola asked without meaning to, making Rachel pause before throwing a look over her shoulder, smirk firmly on her lips.

“I think she’d let you in even if she didn’t really want to.” She replied before throwing a wave over her shoulder and walking back towards the school.

Nikola sat, regretting and chastising herself for regretting and feeling guilty only for the cycle to repeat. Eventually she became angry with herself and finished three more cigarettes before standing and slinking back into the dorms and hurrying into her room.

Inside the safety of her Room Nikola sighed and sagged down, sitting heavily on the edge of her bed. Everything was spiraling out of her control and she didn’t know what to do to change it.

The one thing she could do however was get up get into the shower and change. So she did. She was barely present as she got up and showered, washing her hair twice because she spaced out and was unsure if she’d done it even once. Once done in the shower she slunk back to her room and pulled on a comfy pair of joggers knowing neither Max nor Rachel would allow her into the bed with jeans on. She paired it with a dark sweatshirt and a thin hoodie. Once she was clean and changed there was still some time to kill before the other three would conceivable pile into Max’s room and settle in for the evening.

Nikola settled for pulling her extremely battered guitar out of its case and began to strum. She let her fingers steer her brain, soft melodies flowing from her finger tips. She let the music carry her away.

Nikola blinked herself back into awareness 4 hours later. She’d completely spaced out, a combination of the mindless guitar playing and withdrawals she supposed.  Choosing not to linger on the why Nikola stood and stretched out her thin frame. She was becoming more and more skeletal with each passing week. There wasn’t much to be down about that she mused. The drugs made her lose her appetite and even when she wasn’t on them she wasn’t interested in food.

Deciding enough time had passed Nikola carefully cracked open her door and peered into the hallway. There was no one in the silent hall so Nikola scurried down the hall and knocked softly on Max’s door. A few seconds later it swung open and Max stood in the doorway, dressed in a thin t-shirt and her boy shorts she was fond of sleeping in. At the sight a small smile spread across Nikola’s lips and Max returned it, reaching up and wrapping her arms around Nikola’s neck, standing on her tip toes to do it.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered into raven hair, causing Nikola to squeeze her tighter before releasing her.

“Do not apologize Maxi.” Nikola replied, catching Rachel’s eye over her shoulder who shot her a wink and a grin. “I now understand why it is you did such a thing.” It was true she understood it, but she still did not agree with Max’s actions, but was smart enough to not bring it up.

“Good. Now get in here, Chloe brought her game cube over and we’re doing a Mario Kart tournament.” Max said, pulling Nikola in with a grin and closing the door behind her.

“My birthday’s up next so I get to choose my partner first!” Rachel said settling in next to Chloe on the couch and lifting a piece of Pizza out of the box Nikola only just noticed. “And I choooooooose” she said drawing the word out as her eyes flitted between the three of them. “Max!” she declared, patting the space next to her. Max plopped down and picked up a controller.

“Looks like it’s up to us to beat these two nerds Nik.” Chloe said grinning her predatory smile and chucking the last controller to Nikola. ”we’re going to crush you losers.”

In the end they ended up both winning a cup each but Nikola and Chloe won the tie breaker in a balloon battle. Their victory celebrations were interrupted by Max yawning widely and Rachel smiling affectionately at her. At some point the smallest girl had ended up in her lap and was now snuggling in, face tucked securely into her neck.

“Time for bed.” Rachel said softly before standing and with a bit of a struggle carried Max to bed, dropping to the mattress as graceful as possible with her arms full of 5”5 hipster.

Early on into the relationship they had all pooled their money and bought a queen sized mattress, carefully deconstructing the twin bedframe provided by the school and putting it in the closet. They no longer had a bedframe, just a queen mattress on the floor, but it fit all of them on it and that was the important part.

Max curled into Rachel’s chest mumbling a little as she readjusted. Chloe smiled affectionately at the two girls on the bed before carefully stepping over them both and taking the spot closest to the wall, spooning Max. Without a word Nikola took her place as Rachel’s big spoon (she was the only one who was tall enough for it to be comfortable with and the sole bearer of the secret that Rachel loved being small spoon.) Chloe briefly leaned up on her elbow and hooked her fingers in Nikola’s collar and pulled her into a kiss before releasing her and settling down, pressing a soft kiss to Max’s temple. Nikola squirmed around until she had finally found the comfy spot and wrapped her arm around Rachels waist, pulling her closer before peppering kisses along her almost bare shoulders making her hum in contentment.

For the first time in almost three weeks Nikola slept peacefully, her mind for once not tormented by nightmares of her father or disturbed by cramps and pains associated with withdrawals.


	2. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some things come to light and Nikola has a choice to make.

It’s disorienting, going from waking up every morning with your three girlfriends to waking up on a cold bathroom floor with a bucket of ice water being dumped on your face. This is the situation Nikola found herself in.

When her senses returned she found she was laying on the bathroom floor, a needle still stuck in her forearm and a very, very pissed off Rachel standing above her, bucket still clenched in one hand. “What. The. Fuck.” she grits out, her normally calm Hazel eyes alight with rage. It’s not a good feeling to wake up to and still disoriented and not quite herself Nikola can’t help but flinch back, cowering and holding one palms out and facing away, ready for the blows to start coming. “I asked you point blank about this three days ago Nikola. Three. Days. Ago.”  Rachel takes in a deep shuddering breath, sounding almost pained. “I believed you, I trusted you. And this is how you want to pay me back? This is why you’ve all but stopped talking to us? This is why max cried herself to sleep last night because she was convinced you were dying and she couldn’t do anything about it.” The bucket clatters to the ground and Rachel starts out the bathroom door. “Fuck you Nikola. Stay the fuck away, we don’t have any room in our lives for anymore liars and cheats.” Rachel says, voice shaking and through the haze Nikola can hear the pain Rachel is desperately trying to hide.

And just like that, Nikola’s life crumbled down around her all over again.

With all the energy she could muster Nikola got up and yanked the used needle out of her arm and chucked it into the trash angrily.  She wasn’t sure what she was angrier at, herself or her father. Not that it mattered. Her whole world had just been burnt to the ground. Slowly Nikola gained her feet, a feat made all the more difficult with 12 pounds of soaking wet clothing. Nikola’s jacket had been heavy to start with, drenched it was almost too much as Nikola, weakened and sickly from the drugs barely managed it.

Unsteady on her feet Nikola wobbled out of the bathroom, thankfully it was the one in the dorms and she didn’t have far to go before she was safely back in her room where she immediately shed her clothing, tossing it in a heap to be dealt with later save for her jacket which she hung on her opened window sill. Like a zombie Nikola got changed into something dry before collapsing on her bed, her energy already depleted. Her chest heaved and slowly Nikola broke down, pressing her palms into her eyes as hard as possible to try and stop the flood of tears.

She cried until she couldn’t cry anymore, too exhausted and likely too dehydrated to keep crying. She lay unmoving. She fell into a troubled sleep full of nightmares of her father and Rachel’s angry face.

When Nikola next woke she was startled to find another body in her bed. She went from asleep to wide awake in half a second. Somewhere in the back of her mind Nikola wished she could just wake up normally for once. In her panic and fear Nikola ended up kicking whoever it was off the bed as she pressed up against the wall. Only after they started groaning did Nikola realize two other people were also in the room. Chloe and Rachel sat together on the couch, Chloe looked furious whereas Rachel was doing her best to hide her anger which meant…

Leaning over the bed Nikola saw Max, twisted up in her covers and clutching the back of her head with one hand and her hip with the other. Mouth twisting in regret Nikola spoke softly. “I am sorry Maxi, I did not expect someone in my bed-“

“Yeah I’m sure you didn’t expect anyone after Rachel found you in the bathroom.” Chloe spat cutting Nikola off. She stood up and for the first time in forever Nikola found herself afraid of what Chloe might do to her. She was right to be afraid as Chloe took two steps before her hand curled into a fist and slammed into Nikola’s cheek, knocking her back against the wall and leaving her lying flat on her back staring dazedly up at the ceiling. “That’s for making Max and Rachel cry! And for being such a stupid fucking idiot!” Chloe yelled, already being shoved back and forced to shit on the shitty couch Nikola had found on a curb. Rachel stood standing, one palm out towards Chloe, almost daring her to move, the other Hauling max up and holding her close.

“If anyone hurts anyone else again before this discussion is over I will tie you to a fucking chair and drag you to the psych office, are we clear?” Rachel said, calmly but the fire in her eyes were enough to deter anyone saying anything. She glared at both Nikola and Chloe before cupping Max’s cheeks and tipping her face up and turning it this way and that before quietly asking if she was okay. Max nodded before she let Rachel envelop her in a hug. Nikola wasn’t sure but she could have sworn she heard Max muttering that Nikola hadn’t meant to kick her out of bed and that Chloe or her would have probably done the same had they woken with a surprise guest in their bed. Rachel nodded before letting her go and taking a seat on the bed before reaching out and grabbing Nik’s chin. S bruise was rapidly forming on her right cheek but luckily it didn’t seem like the hit had landed close enough to her eyes to do any real damage.  “You okay?” she asked softly to which Nikola nodded. Nodding back Rachel stood and took her place on the couch along with Max and Chloe, all three of them looking at her.

Chloe looked pissed Rachel’s face was unreadable and Max just looked so sad it broke Nikola’s heart. She had done this, she had hurt her girlfriends.

“Rachel told us everything” Max said, her big brown doe eyes making Nikola feel terrible.

“And we talked about what to do about it.” Chloe said, arms crossed defensively across her chest, looking angry yet the hurt she was trying to hide was also obvious.

“You cannot tell anyone.” Nikola said, a hint of desperation leaking into her voice.

“We won’t” Rachel said neutrally. “But only if you let us help you.”

“Help me?” Nikola said, becoming confused.

“Here’s the deal junkie.” Chloe said, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knee’s as Nikola flinched at the new nickname. It stung despite knowing she deserved it. “We’re going to clean you up and you’re going to let us. If you slip up and use again, we tell Blackwell.”

_And I get deported_ Nikola thought, eyes widening at the realization. She was here on a student visa and if the school found out about her side activities they would expel her and Nikola would be forced to go back home, to her father and those grey walls and that empty house masquerading as a home.

Nikola swallowed hard and let her head hang. “These are the rules.” Rachel said, her voice leaving no room for protest. “One, you have to be in eye sight of one of us at all times. Within reason.” Nikola looked up and met Rachel’s challenging gaze. “And we’re not stupid, we know you have science class and social without us and it’s not like we can follow you into the shower or the toilets every time. Which brings us to the second rule. Every night you’re going to let us check you for fresh needle marks. And if we think your using again we’ll call you on it and make sure your not.”

“And don’t think we don’t know all the trick’s, crook of the elbow, between the toes. Don’t think we won’t find out.” Chloe added. Nikola swallowed thickly. This was her worst nightmare come to life. Not only had her girlfriends found out about her using but they also apparently had a rock solid plan to get her to get sober, something Nikola had never even thought about before.

“The third rule is you go cold turkey, starting right now. You break a rule and you’ll lose us forever, never mind what Blackwell will do.” Rachel added, her voice betraying her. Nikola could tell it was hurting her to be so harsh, she could tell Max was clearly uncomfortable as well, hell even Chloe looked upset by this point. “The last rule is No sex until you’re sober.” This got Nikola’s attention. Max had taken Chloe’s hand and was holding it tightly with both of her while Chloe put her free arms across Rachel’s shoulders. “Not just for you, but for all of us. This is going to be hard on all of us. The no sex rule is to motivate you and so we can share even the smallest bit of your suffering.” Rachel took a deep breath and leaned into Chloe the slightest bit more.  “Those are the rules. Take them or leave them.” Rachel said, turning her head and pressing her face into Chloe’s neck, her shoulders shaking imperceptibly and Nikola knew she was crying.

“If your answer is leave them then we leave with ‘em.” Chloe said softly, pulling the two girls closer into her. Always the protector and always the refuge they ran to when any of them needed a safe place. “It’s us or the drugs Nikola. But you can’t have both.”

“We didn’t want to give you an ultimatum it’s just…” Max mumbled, having been quiet for most of the conversation.

“The only way you’d listen.” Rachel supplied.

“You’re like me Nikola, you’re not going to give it up or change unless we force you. You had your outs but you didn’t take them. So here we are.”  Chloe added, running her fingers through Rachel hair now, her blue feather earing fluttering in the slight breeze blowing in from Nikola’s open window.

Nikola stayed silent, her fingers clenching and unclenching in her lap.

“We’ll let you think about it Nik. We’ll be back in an hour for your answer.” Max said, untangling herself from Chloe and standing, stumbling slightly as her leg had apparently fallen asleep. Chloe got up to steady her, together they walked to the door leaving Rachel still sitting on the couch.

“Coming?” Chloe asked.

“Just a minute. I’ll meet you two in Max’s room.” Chloe hesitated but nodded and they left, closing the door behind them. With just the two of them left Rachel got up and sat on the bed next to Nikola, running her hand up and down her back. “I know it seems harsh babes but we care for you. We all want what’s best for you. Chloe may be rough about it but she’s scared. She saw me hooked on drugs and she doesn’t want to ever see that again. She means well. And you know max, she’s stronger than she looks but this isn’t something she can fix and that scares her. She’s lost a lot of people in her life and she can’t see another one go. We both know how I feel about the situation. Been there done that, almost got raped and killed for it.” Rachel’s mouth thinned and Nikola knew she was relieving her past. With a gentle nudge Nikola brought her out of it. She took a deep breath before standing. “My point is, we still love you and we’re scared. So remember that when making your choice, alright?’ Rachel bent down and kissed her cheek before straightening and Nikola was left alone again. With an exhausted sigh Nikola fell back on her bed and thought about all that had been said.

She had to choose between her girlfriends or drugs and Nikola wasn’t sure which one she could live without.

~

Two hours later Nikola finally found the courage to get up and slink her way to max’s room. Pushing the door open she found the three of them piled on the mattress, Chloe and Rachel watching Max play something on the gamecube. When the door creaked open she paused it and all three of them turned to look at her. Nikola dropped to the couch, hands stuffed in her pocket and unable to meet anyone’s gaze.

“I choose you three.” She said softly.


End file.
